Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
This invention relates to barbecue grills and is particularly concerned with such grills having a water circulating system for maintaining food support systems cool and clean as food therein is cooked. Grills of the type described are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,632,089 and 6,158,426.
It has been found that with food cooking grills having water circulating systems for maintaining the food support systems thereof cool and clean as the food is cooked water collects on the cooled food support systems and falls along with grease and drippings from the food being cooked onto the heat source for the grill. The dropped water, along with the drippings from the food can significantly adversely affect the efficiency of the heat source. Both water and food drippings accumulating on the heat source have proven to be damaging, with time, to the burners or other heat sources used. The water droplets may be heated to form steam, but the steam formed may include smoke and grease that has also been formed as the material dropped onto the heat source is heated. Consequently, the materials dropped onto the heat source may burn and smoke and the water component may steam and evaporate only to condense and provide a grease coating on the interior of the somewhat cooler grill housing. Periodically, thereafter, the accumulated coating must be removed for cleanliness and sanitation reasons
Principal objects of the present invention are to provide a barbecue grill having cooking grid with a water circulating food support system that will remain cool and clean, even as food is cooked on the support system; that will collect water condensing on and falling from the food support system without collecting significant amounts of food drippings from food cooked on the food support system; that will protect the heat source of the grid from the water and food drippings; that will provide for steam assisted cooking and flavoring of food on the support system sand steaming of separately processed foods in a steam pot.
Principal features of the invention include a barbecue grill having a housing within which food is cooked while resting on a cooking grid. The cooking grid is formed as interconnected tubes through which water is circulated. Food to be cooked is placed on a top surface of the grid. A heat source, which may be a burner or a plurality of burners supplied with fuel, such as propane, is positioned in a lower portion of the housing. A drip water collector, comprising a plurality of interconnected, spaced apart collection troughs, is positioned in the housing, between the cooking grid and the heat source. Each collection trough is positioned beneath at least one water circulating tube of the cooking grill and will receive water collecting on the water circulating tube(s) thereabove and dropping from the tube(s). Each collection trough extends from a bottom upwardly on opposite sides to terminate in side edges positioned just outside the outermost sides of the water circulating tube(s) positioned above the trough. The collection troughs making up the drip water collector are spaced apart and are held together by support members to which the collection troughs are connected.
With the drip water collector spaced beneath the cooking grid and the collection troughs beneath water circulating tubes, water condensing on and falling from the water circulating tubes is caught in the collection troughs, which are heated by the heat source. The water caught in the collection troughs forms steam that rises from the collection troughs to be used in the cooking of food on the cooking grid. At the same time additional steam is passed upwardly between the spaced apart collection troughs and the spaced apart water circulating tubes to assist in cooking the food placed on the cooking grid. The additional steam is generated by heat from the heat source acting on the walls of a steamer that is centrally positioned beneath each of the collection troughs.
The steamer is elongate and includes a body that is filled with flavor chips and water. As the steamer is heated by the heat source the water turns to steam and the steam and absorbed flavors in the steam resulting from heating of the water soaked flavor chips is passed upwardly through holes in a top cover of the steamer. Heat from the heat source passes around the steamer while heating the walls thereof and generating flavored steam and between the collection troughs to heat the troughs to generate steam from water collecting in the troughs and to cook food placed on the cooking grid. At the same time a steamer pot, using the common water supply source supplying water to the cooking grid and the steamer is used to process foods placed in the steamer pot.
The common water supply is selected from a connected outside pressurized water source or from a closed water system including a reservoir, a circulating pump and a radiator cooler.
Droppings from food being cooked on the cooking grid falls from the food between the water circulating tubes and between the water collection troughs to the top cover of the steamer, with only a small amount of such droppings passing the steamer and onto the burners or other components of the heat source. The top cover of the steamer is easily removed and scraped or washed clean of any grease accumulation, as may be necessary to maintain effective cooking and to extend the life of the heat source.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from the following detailed description and drawings, disclosing what is presently contemplated as being the best mode of the invention.